he persistent patterns of under-representation of certain social groups at higher education (HE) identified that the current strategies used as part of the widening participation agenda required revising. Outreach activities are the main strategy used by the widening participation agenda to address the under-representation of certain groups of young people such asthose from disadvantaged backgrounds at HE. owever, a shortage of robust evidence made it difficult to determine the actual mpact and effectiveness of these outreach activities. This thesis addressed this gap n knowledge by establishing robust approaches to designing and evaluating outreach activities. To achieve this, a different perspective was taken; this hesisdemonstrated howpsychology can improve the design and evaluation of outreach activities. The use of psychological theories such as cognitive behavioural herapy and attribution theory were demonstrated indevising the outreach ntervention ThinkSmart as being valuable for outreach activities. The evaluationof ThinkSmart showed a short-term practical significance, thus the intervention did have an impact on the recipients, this however, was not sustained. To support the evaluation of ThinkSmart a measure of intention to engage with HE was devised and validated, 'Students Intentions Towards University' (SITU) due to one not currently existing in the literature, despite progression to HE being a key outcome for outreach activities. To understand the effectiveness of ThinkSmart, unique to the thesis a process evaluation was undertaken to explore the implementation process. The approach showed that the components required for behavioural change were ignificantly under implemented, which impacted on the overall success of ThinkSmart explaining to some degree the small short-term gains of recipients. inally to support the development of well-designed interventions to impact on the evident disparities in the patterns of participation in HE, as well as providing a ramework for further research in this area, an ecological model of educational progression was devised. The model established the importance of the individual in understanding how best to address the objective of the widening participation; as this an explain why despite their background young people can achieve. Therefore in summary outreach activities need to consider the individual but in light of the contextual factors presented in the model. This thesis hasdemonstrated that it is important to evaluate outreach activities robustly and to do so principles ofpsychology should be incorporated to improve the design and evaluation of outreach activities, to positively impact on the likelihood of non-traditional students, i.e. those from disadvantaged backgrounds engaging with HE, addressing the widening participation agenda objectives.

Low student achievement and decreasing student engagement have provoked a call for pedagogical change in the UAE. In an attempt to address these challenges an intervention was introduced that consisted of an alternate pedagogical approach in the form of standards-focused project-based learning which is an active-learning approach where students drive their own learning through the completion of a project(s) that promotes inquiry, standards alignment, and collaborative research. This action research study sought to analyse the effectiveness of this alternate approach by answering two research questions using by collecting and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data. The first research question was: what kind of change can be brought about by engaging students in a student-focused and active learning environment by the design and implementation of a standards-focused project-based learning model? The second research question was: what is the difference in exam scores between students in a lecture-based class and students in an active-learning class that utilizes a standards-focused project-based learning curriculum? In response to these research questions, statistical significance was found in the difference between the mean examination scores of the Foundation course experimental section and the Foundation course control section. No significance was found when comparing the mean examination scores of the First year education experimental section with the first year education control section. Four primary themes were identified through thematic content analysis of the feedback shared by the participants during the focus groups. The four themes were (a) connection between teaching style and performance, (b) students’ preparedness for exam, (c) positive influence of peer pressure and (d) students driven by an external locus of control.

<p> The present study utilized data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study &ndash; 2, which is a longitudinal study of a nationally represented sample of students with disabilities between the years 2000 and 2010. Using this dataset, the relationships among disability type area of study, and degree completion were explored. The final sample included approximately 310 students classified as having learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was hypothesized that individuals with ASD would prefer fields of study where there was limited social interaction to a greater degree than those with LD or ADHD. Additionally, it was hypothesized that students with ASD would be more likely than their LD and ADHD counterparts to choose fields of study in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Results from two path analysis models, however, revealed no significant findings. Consequently, it appears as though other factors or a combination of factors better account for the postsecondary outcomes of students with disabilities. The primary implication of these findings is that professionals and caregivers should refrain from making assumptions about area of postsecondary study or degree completion based simply on students&rsquo; disability types. Furthermore, it does not appear warranted to direct students with disabilities to select specific types of academic majors simply because it is assumed that pursuing those majors will result in better postsecondary outcomes.</p>

This study explored the complexity of working and teaching within one English post -1992 university from the perspectives of thirteen members of academic staff. Work relationships, work load and perception of the management’s support of teaching were investigated via semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a theoretical framework. This method offered a way to analyse and interpret the experiences of lecturers working in Higher Education by maintaining a focus on the academics’ own words. Previous research using IPA has been established within health and counselling fields (Smith et al, 2009) and its use within educational settings is emergent (Creanor, Trinder, Gowan et al, 2008; Biggerstaff and Thompson, 2008). The academics interviewed mostly entered higher education with no formal teacher training and many found their initial time in the role to be stressful and poorly managed. Support mechanisms (induction, mentoring, team teaching, teacher training courses) were described as being areas that could all be improved. The dramatic metaphorical language used to describe their entry into the HE system vividly depicted these challenges. The capturing of this highly expressive language offered new insight into understanding the lives of lecturing staff. Participants expressed their working lives with multiple references to the language of war, battle and struggle. Aspects of both vulnerability and tenacity were present in the findings, with the responses to challenges being expressed in both positive and negative ways. Most participants found that the levels of university bureaucracy impeded their teaching effectiveness; they battled with time management and felt tension between the levels of control, audit and freedom within their roles. This was somewhat ameliorated by the satisfaction they gained from teaching their students. The majority described students as consumers who were increasingly demanding and had varied abilities which created challenges for the lecturers. Traditional HE lecture-based techniques were perceived to be less effective in engaging students and most participants actively tried new methods of teaching, despite having little knowledge of theoretical aspects of learning to support this work. Few had experienced formal observation mechanisms and there were mixed responses about the level of support they received from their colleagues around teaching and its associated administrative tasks. The interviewed academics did not perceive that teaching was overtly valued by their superiors as their efforts remained largely unrecognised by those in senior management. Insights into the complex lives of the lecturers gave the researcher scope to create initiatives to promote positive change and make recommendations to senior management that could foster further improvements. In light of the data collected, the induction processes were changed to include more consistent mentoring, peer teaching observation groups (peer learning circles) were coordinated and staff development was organised to facilitate enhanced support for lecturers.

<p> The primary purpose of this study was the exploration of social media utility as a crisis communication practice on three selected university campuses. The overarching research question for this study was &ldquo;How and what social media technologies are selected, planned for, implemented, and monitored in crisis management in selected universities?&rdquo;. This study examines how these institutions used social media during crisis, pinpoints the emergent themes, analyzes the engagement between the selected universities and their social media audience, and analyzes the effectiveness of social media during campus crisis situations.</p><p> The findings of this study include the documentation of institutional practices that contribute to successful social media crisis communication integration. These elements ultimately coalesce into the identification of a series of best practices that can help inform the field and contribute to the establishment of best practices for social media use during campus crisis situations. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> This study provides a qualitative exploration of the ways in which the various degrees of entrepreneurialism and commercialization shape female graduate student training and socialization across science technology and engineering fields. This study explores institutional conditions at three selective and private U.S. research universities that cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship in graduate students to introduce patents, start companies, and/or work in leadership roles in start-ups and corporations. A focus of the study is on institutional factors important to women with doctorate degrees in the STEM fields &ndash; science, engineering, technology and mathematics. Critical factors in each institution&rsquo;s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem are explored, including the institution&rsquo;s role in building innovation and entrepreneurial pathways, their commitment and resources for innovation and entrepreneurship, their culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and their commitment to diversity and inclusion for increasing participation of women in innovation.</p>

<p> Public universities face significant funding challenges as states continue to look for efficiencies or outright cuts. In addition, the call for accountability in higher education continues to grow as state lawmakers, policy analysts, and researchers voice concern that degree attainment has stagnated, is too low to support economic growth, and takes too long. Business and political leaders are also increasingly interested in developing higher education accountability in response to concerns by students and families over the rising cost of a degree. Together, these themes of accountability and cost control have resulted in dramatically different policy innovations in the form of performance-based funding in a growing number of states. However, these policies have thus far produced scant evidence of success. Furthermore, the potential unintended consequences of these policies seem large, including the risk of increased selectivity resulting in increased class-based inequality and the risk of decreased educational quality. Thus, the shift from basing state support on inputs to outputs could be much more than a simple accounting change. By stressing different priorities, the shift may ultimately alter the historic access mission of public higher education. Ohio created a new policy in 2012 that funds 100 percent of undergraduate higher education state appropriations to public universities on the basis of outcomes, the most aggressive policy of its kind in the nation. This study investigated the perceptions of 24 Ohio higher education leaders regarding this policy innovation and combined those responses with related performance metrics in order to synthesize a more comprehensive understanding of early impacts and implications, particularly as it pertains to outcomes, access, and education quality. The results of the investigation suggest that that retention has improved, access has decreased, and quality has been unaffected. University leaders were largely in favor of the policy and supported increased selectivity even in the face of declining enrollments. Although concerns remain regarding at-risk student support, the study suggests that a 100 percent performance-based policy may have positive benefits and achieve the intended objectives. It may also alter our conception of the broad access mission of higher education as access is traded for student success. </p>

<p> A fast-growing number of international students is entering the U.S. higher education system, making our college campuses more multicultural and multinational in recent years. This phenomenon represents a new mission for American colleges and universities&mdash;to promote global citizenship and a new 21^st-century worldview. </p><p> The increase of Chinese international students not only brings in revenue for the American higher education system but also enhances the diversity of the student body. Many institutions assert that, by having more international students on campus, they can bring awareness of global competitiveness and promote a 21^st-century worldview to their students. </p><p> To achieve the educational goal of bringing multicultural diversity and global awareness to U.S. campuses, interaction among domestic and international students is a fundamental factor in making this globalization phenomenon beneficial for all students. However, it is commonly observed that Chinese international students and U.S. domestic students often encounter difficulty in cross-group interaction. </p><p> This study investigates the interaction patterns among U.S. domestic students and Chinese international students at two four-year universities with large numbers of Chinese international students. These two institutions, one public and one private, each hosts more than 4,500 international students, with more than 10% of their total student population from overseas and more than 40% of them from China. The objective of this research is to highlight the importance of cross-cultural and cross-national friendship by understanding students&rsquo; interaction patterns and identifying both friendship initiators as well as barriers. </p><p> The research uncovers the social distance and stereotypes between the two groups as the common barriers to friendship. Conversely, the initiators of friendship are the shared experience and equal status between the Chinese international students and domestic students. Institutions should prepare the way for global interconnectedness by promoting inclusive, world-ready classrooms; implementing a campus climate that explicitly welcomes international participants; and advocating the concept of cross-national <i>global friendship</i> as a part of 21st-century education.</p>

<p> &ldquo;Arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.&rdquo; This statement by Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan acknowledges the growing pervasiveness and seeming inevitability of global economic and cultural interdependence that characterizes globalization. The benefits and detriments of this phenomenon continue to be debated widely across political, social, cultural and national spectra. Globalization is the set of larger socio-economic forces shaping our world and internationalization is how institutions respond. More specifically, internationalization describes the operational, organizational and strategic processes, policies and practices that institutions put in place in response to globalization. Manifestations in higher education include enhanced study abroad programs, branch campuses, public and private partnerships and increases in international student engagement strategies.</p><p> In order to better understand internationalization in higher education, this study explores how, why and in what ways internationalization has evolved at three large, highly selective U.S.-based research institutions: Cornell, University of California in Berkeley and New York University. The undertakings at each reflect the unique history, willingness to innovate, organizational culture and aspirations of these highly complex, diverse, public and private institutions. The study explores disparate strategic elements, challenges, obstacles, and opportunities as well as the common and disparate drivers for changing internationalization strategies over time at each and across the three institutions. The findings underscore common themes, such as the importance of linking institutional identity and culture to the strategy; the careful consideration, selection and negotiation of partners; and the serious process and operational planning that need to be made in order to accommodate the new strategy and sustain the altered operation. The findings further affirm that although the approaches are distinctive and one size definitely does not fit all, several broad domains of emphasis emerge as framing mechanisms and shared experiences that might benefit others interested in exploring and understanding internationalization in higher education.</p>

<p> Bill Clinton proffered a plan for student loans as he was running for president: a direct loan system with repayments tied to income and collected by the Internal Revenue Service. Since that time, student loan policy continued to struggle with the dichotomy of the bank based lending system and the direct loan system, until President Obama ended new federal student loan originations in the bank based system entirely in 2010. The actions of President George W Bush&rsquo;s administration in between these two Democratic administrations also played a role in this evolution of student lending. How and why did these Presidents take these policy actions and what does that tell us about student loan policymaking within the executive branch? This dissertation employs a case study methodology to explore whether frameworks of policymaking theory may offer insights into student loan policymaking across these three administrations. </p>